Washington DC Standards Sixth Grade Science resources

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DC.6.1.Scientific Thinking and Inquiry: Broad Concept: Scientific progress is made by asking relevant questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content in this grade, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students:

Scientific Thinking and Inquiry: Broad Concept: Scientific progress is made by asking relevant questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content in this grade, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students:

6.1.1. Give examples of different ways scientists investigate natural phenomena and identify processes all scientists use, such as collection of relevant evidence, the use of reasoning, the development and testing of hypotheses, and the use and construction of theory in order to make sense of the evidence.

6.1.8. Record and organize information in simple tables and graphs, and identify relationships they reveal. Use tables and graphs as examples of evidence for explanations when writing essays or writing about lab work, fieldwork, etc. Read simple tables and graphs produced by others, and describe in words what they show.

DC.6.2.Science and Technology: Broad Concept: Although each of the human enterprises of science and technology has a character and history of its own, each is dependent on and reinforces the other. Students:

Science and Technology: Broad Concept: Although each of the human enterprises of science and technology has a character and history of its own, each is dependent on and reinforces the other. Students:

6.2.1. Explain that computers have become valuable in science because they speed up and extend people's ability to collect, store, compile, and analyze data, prepare research reports, and share data and ideas with investigators all over the world.

6.2.2. Explain that technology is essential to science for such purposes as measurement, data collection, graphing and storage, computation, communication of information, and access to outer space and other remote locations.

DC.6.3.Solar System: Broad Concept: Astronomy and planetary exploration reveal the structure and scale of the solar system. As a basis for understanding this concept, students:

Solar System: Broad Concept: Astronomy and planetary exploration reveal the structure and scale of the solar system. As a basis for understanding this concept, students:

6.3.1. Recognize that the solar system consists of the Earth, moon, sun, eight generally recognized other planets that orbit the sun and their satellites, and smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets.

6.3.10. Explain that gravity is a force of attraction that every mass in the universe exerts on every other mass, and everything on or anywhere near Earth is pulled toward Earth's center by a gravitational force.

6.3.2. Describe how the planets move around the sun in elliptical orbits; and the near-coplanarity of the orbits, along with the principle of conservation of momentum, is evidence essential to our understanding of how the solar system was originally formed.

6.3.3. Explain that the moon is Earth's only natural satellite, but several of the other planets have natural satellites as well. Understand Earth also has many artificial satellites and that all of these satellites, artificial and natural, are in elliptical orbits around their primaries.

6.3.6. Construct models or drawings to explain that the seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of its orbit and its revolution around the sun. Explain how this results in uneven heating of the various parts of Earth's surface that varies over the course of the year.

6.3.7. Describe that as spring turns to summer at a particular place on Earth, the days grow longer and the sun moves higher in the sky, resulting in more intense heating. In fall and winter, the opposite occurs. Explain how this variation in heating results in the seasons.

6.3.8. Recognize and describe that the sun as a medium-sized star located near the edge of a disk-shaped galaxy of stars called the Milky Way, and that the universe contains many billions of galaxies, and each galaxy contains many billions of stars.

6.3.9. Recognize that the sun-Earth distance is such that it takes about eight minutes for light from the sun to reach Earth. Know that the next nearest star is many thousands of times farther from Earth, and its light takes about four years to reach Earth.

DC.6.4.Heat (Thermal Energy): Broad Concept: The transfer of energy through radiation and convection currents affects many phenomena on the Earth's surface. As a basis for understanding this concept, students:

Heat (Thermal Energy): Broad Concept: The transfer of energy through radiation and convection currents affects many phenomena on the Earth's surface. As a basis for understanding this concept, students:

6.4.1. Explain the meaning of radiation, convection, and conduction (three mechanisms by which heat is transferred to, through, and out of the Earth's system).

6.4.2. Describe that the heat from the sun falls on Earth unevenly because of its spherical shape. Describe that regions close to the equator receive more concentrated solar energy than those closer to the poles.

6.4.6. Describe why ocean temperatures, therefore, tend to vary seasonally less than land areas and coastal areas tend to have cooler summers and warmer winters than inland areas at a similar distance from the poles.

DC.6.5.Weather and Climate: Broad Concept: Weather (in the short run) and climate (in the long run) involve the transfer of energy in and out of the atmosphere. As a basis for understanding this concept, students:

Weather and Climate: Broad Concept: Weather (in the short run) and climate (in the long run) involve the transfer of energy in and out of the atmosphere. As a basis for understanding this concept, students:

6.5.1. Explain how different regions receive different amounts of solar heating because of their latitude, clouds, surface water ice, and other variables. Understand that this results in large-scale convective air flow and weather patterns.

6.5.3. Explain that a great deal of heat energy is absorbed when water evaporates and is released when it condenses. Illustrate that this cycling of water and heat in and out of the atmosphere plays a critical role in climatic patterns.

6.5.5. Describe how climates may have changed abruptly in the past as a result of changes in Earth's crust, such as gas and dust from volcanic eruptions or impacts of meteorites, asteroids, and comets from space.

DC.6.8.Plate Tectonics: Broad Concept: Plate tectonics explain important features of the Earth's surface and major geologic events. As the basis for understanding this concept, students:

Plate Tectonics: Broad Concept: Plate tectonics explain important features of the Earth's surface and major geologic events. As the basis for understanding this concept, students:

6.8.1. Describe the solid lithosphere of Earth, including both the continents and the ocean basins, and how it is broken into several plates that ride on a denser, hot, and gradually deformable layer in the mantle called the asthenosphere (weak sphere).

6.8.5. Explain the process in which plates push against one another, one of them may be dense enough to sink under the other, a process called subduction. Explain that oceanic lithosphere may sink under continental or oceanic lithosphere, but continental lithosphere does not subduct.

6.8.6. Describe that subducting plates may partially melt and form magma, which rises to the surface as lava to feed volcanoes at the end form volcanic mountain chains associated with deep-sea trenches.

6.9.3. Explain that although weathered rock is the basic component of soil, the composition and texture of soil and its fertility and resistance to erosion are greatly influenced by plant roots and debris, bacteria, fungi, worms, insects, and other organisms.

6.9.5. Illustrate and describe that remains of changing life forms are found in successive layers, although the youngest layers are not always found on top because of the folding, breaking, and uplifting of layers.

6.9.6. Recognize that evidence from geologic layers and radioactive dating indicates that Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old and life on this planet has existed for more than 3 billion years.

6-8.RST.4. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics.

DC.CC.6-8.WHST.Writing Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects

Writing Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

6-8.WHST.7. Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.